Hello everyone! For the first writing assignment of the semester, I will be portraying problematic positive stereotypes with the support of the 2009 American sitcom, Community. This show was about a diverse group of individuals who come together as a Spanish study group and go on wild adventures. As we are all adjusting to college life and all its intricacies, I feel like Community was a gold mine for stereotypes and decently portrays the overgeneralization of different types of people. For the focus of this assignment, I will be digging deeper into the character of Shirley Bennet, the motherly figure of the entire series that ties the show together.
Shirley was a middle-aged African American mother of two kids who attended Greendale Community College in hopes of obtaining a business degree to open her own restaurant. She possessed this very positive aura and was probably the most positive influence in the study group. I believe Shirley fits the positive stereotype of mothers always being nurturing and comforting to people, even though they are not their own kids. It’s the maternal instinct. This can potentially be problematic because the expectation of women to adhere to their motherly duties at home instead of accomplishing what they want to accomplish becomes a burden. There was always this heavy lens on women being “unfit” to be a mother just because they are chasing after their own dreams. In Community, Shirley is a complex individual because of her loving maternal tone, juxtaposed with her glowing and fiesty independence.
Hello Kyle! Shirley is indeed the "Mom" of this group of mismatched community college students. As a nurturing black woman, she does certainly fit a stereotype often attributed to mothers of color. As a comedy, Community does thrive off of stereotypes, but, as you mentioned, Shirley is chasing her dreams apart from being a mother. Do you think that this was perhaps the screenwriters' attempts at balancing the negative affects this stereotype could present?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kaelyn!
DeletenIce, this is a great analysis of Shirley. It is very common for actors of color to play their stereotypes as comedic relief and oftentimes the only role they qualify for in cinema.
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